There
are so many events taking place in the world today that Christians should be
aware of the seriousness of the hour. I
am cognizant of the fact that there have been many “prophecy experts” who have
set times and dates for the coming of the LORD.
They have all been wrong. The
only thing that has happened is these “experts” have made thousands of dollars
off their “prophecies.” Many good
Christians have been caught up in the thought the LORD is coming back in______,
and you can put your own date down as to
when Christ was coming back. If you talk
with many Christians today, they believe
the LORD is coming back but sometime in the future. He could come
back in their lifetime, but probably not.
One
of the sign of His soon return is the lack of faith and the “falling away” from
the faith once delivered to the saints. “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that
day shall not come, except there come a falling away first…”
Jesus warned us that there would be those who believe
the LORD would delay His coming: “Who then is
the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to
give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his
master will find so doing when he comes.
Truly, I say to you; he will set him over all his possessions. But
if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ and begins
to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, the master of
that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him, and at an hour he does not know and will cut
him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
The faithful servant is doing what he has been instructed to
do. The LORD calls this servant blessed.
However, the wicked servant say
the "Master is not coming now but in the future." This servant begins to live and act in a
ungodly and evil way. The result is the
Master comes when no one is ready. Even
though the LORD has given us the signs of His coming. For
then there will be great tribulation,
such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never
will be. In all the trials and
tribulations in the past, they will not
compare to what is coming.
It is the responsibility of the servant of the LORD to
understand the times and seasons. If we
are doing what the LORD has called us to do,
then we are all the children of light,
and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
Paul explains why the faithful will not be caught unaware.
Now, brothers and
sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know
very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While
people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly,
as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers and sisters, are not in
darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all
children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or
to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us
be awake and sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get
drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober,
putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a
helmet. For God did not appoint us to
suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died
for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore
encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
We have not been appointed to wrath. However, we will suffer tribulation. Jesus explains it this way, Immediately after the tribulation of those
days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the
stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
Then will appear in heaven the sign
of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they
will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great
glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they
will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Increasing deception will mark the "end time." At a
certain point, these deceptions will be augmented by signs and
wonders—miracles! Today we are seeing
these signs, wonders, and miracles. Through technology the blind have sight, the
deaf can hear, the lame can walk, and even the dead can be brought back to
life. In the last 50 years, man has
learned to genetically engineer the flaws in human DNA. Governments have created weapons that can
rain fire from heaven, and destroy life with chemical weapons. Man has become his own god, and Satan has moved
the hearts of man towards more evil and wickedness.
If we are not careful, even the elect—if possible—could be
deceived. This phrase "if
possible" has made some people wonder, "Can the elect be
deceived?" Well, it is kind of a trick question. If they are deceived,
then they are not the elect! This is because the elect do something that keeps
them from being deceived! It is not as if God says, "Here's my favorite
children. I am not going to let them be deceived." That is not how it
works. They are the elect because they do not allow themselves to be deceived. They are aware the signs, wonders, and miracles
that are being performed by the technology advances of today are to be viewed
with caution. Rather than seeing this as
man’s ability to do things without God, the faithful knows that God is in
control of whatever is happening.
So it is not possible to deceive the elect. It is not because
these people have a particular
"safety net" around them so
that they cannot be fooled. They cannot
be deceived because they will not let themselves be deceived, which is why they are the elect. They are working hard to
do what the LORD has called them to do so that they will not be deceived. And that is the group that we want to
be part of.
In the book of Matthew, we read where the disciples asked the question, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.
As we look at what is taking place in the world right now, we should be concerned about not
only our own spiritual condition but those around us. The rumors of war are daily events. Our own government feels it must threaten Russia and North Korea with war, and everyday
we wonder when will this happen. With the US military having withdrawn many of its
forces from Iraq and Afghanistan, most Americans are unaware that hundreds of
US bases and hundreds of thousands of US troops still encircle the globe.
Although few know it, the United States garrisons the planet unlike any country
in history, and the evidence can be seen from Afghanistan to Ukraine, Japan to
Germany, Singapore to Djibouti, South Korea to Poland. The US government has over 300,000 troops stationed in over
150 countries. Our government has brought
war to nations and kingdom at the cost of millions of lives.
Famine may not be an American problem, but it is a world
problem. The world is facing one of the largest food crises in over 70 years, with an
estimated 76 million people in need of emergency food assistance. For more than 30 million people in Africa
and Yemen severe hunger is a daily reality. Every day too many men and women across the
globe struggle to feed their children a nutritious meal. In a world where we
produce enough food to feed everyone, 815 million people –
one in nine – still go to bed on an empty stomach each night.
Even more – one in three – suffer from some form of malnutrition. For some, the risk of starvation is even more significant. More than 20 million people in northeastern
Nigeria, South Sudan, Somalia, and Yemen
are at immediate risk. South Sudan, famine occurred in early 2017 and risk of
future famine is still high, and in
Somalia and Yemen, there is also a high
risk of famine in 2018. Without immediate
support, 1.4 million of those at imminent risk of death are children.
Unfortunately, this is not the first time that
some of these areas have experienced famine. And the threat of famine persists, as needs remain high due to
prolonged conflict and drought,
Researchers warn that 2018
could bring an increase in massive and devastating earthquakes. About four years ago, the Earth’s rotation
slowed slightly. Although the decrease was not enough to notice, the Earth’s
slower rotation it is thought it may
spark an increase in severe earthquakes for 2018, researchers from University
of Colorado Boulder predicted in the fall of 2017.
According to the team’s research, which they presented at the
Geological Society of America annual meeting in Seattle in October 2017, there may be a trend between
slower Earth rotations and more global earthquakes. Over the past 100 years,
there was a 25 to 30 percent increase in the number of significant earthquakes
associated with a slowdown in the Earth’s rotation.”
Last year there were 12,860 recorded quakes around the world. Many earthquakes are undetected by the
USGS; in fact, the organization estimates that around several million
earthquakes occur around the globe annually. Annually, an average of one
earthquake of a magnitude 8 or higher occurs, while approximately 15 earthquakes
ranging from 7 to 7.9 occur. As many as 1.3 million earthquakes measuring 2 to
2.9 in intensity occur annually.
Can we be safe in saying the “beginning of sorrow” is already
underway and has been for several years?
Jesus went on to say, Then
shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be
hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall
betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall
rise, and shall deceive many. And
because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the
same shall be saved.
Christianity is the most offensive religion. It is offensive because it is the only true religion and excludes any other means of
salvation other than through Jesus Christ.
True Christianity exposes sin and requires repentance and
forgiveness. Christianity teaches salvation by grace through faith in
Jesus Christ. This is offensive to all
other religions, and they will do whatever they can to wipe out the message of
the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is offensive
to those who do not believe there is a God and they will do whatever they can
to destroy Christianity. It is offensive
to the Jews because its required them to accept Jesus Christ as their
Messiah. It is offensive to the Muslims because
it teaches that Muhammed is a false prophet.
Is it any wonder that Christians are hated all over the world?
In the Twentieth Century,
more Christians were killed than all the centuries previously. On average, a
Christian is martyred every five minutes — killed because of their faith. The persecution and genocide of Christians
across the world is worse today than at any time in history, and
governments are failing to stop it. The
study by Aid to the Church in Need said the treatment of
Christians has worsened substantially in the past two years compared with
the two years prior and has grown more
violent than any other period in modern times. “Not only are
Christians more persecuted than any other faith group, but ever-increasing
numbers are experiencing the very worst forms of persecution,” the report said.
The report examined the plight of Christians in China, Egypt, Eritrea,
India, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, and Turkey over the period lasting from 2015
until 2017. The research showed that in that time, Christians suffered
crimes against humanity, and some were hanged or crucified. The report
found that Saudi Arabia was the only country where the situation for
Christians did not get worse, and that was only because the situation couldn’t get any worse than it
already was.
There were 45 million Christian martyrs in the 20th century, that
does not count those killed for national, ethnic or political reasons who just
happened to be Christian but were not killed because of their being
Christian."
The tribulation Christians are going through around the world has
never been witnessed in the history of mankind. In some areas in the Middle East, if the killing does not stop soon, there will be no Christians left.
Even though the American Christian has not suffered what our
brothers and sisters in other countries are going through does not mean we will
escape the coming persecution that is beginning to happen here in America.
Do you think that maybe we are at least approaching the last
days? It is essential that we do what we can to warn those around us of events
that are happening that they not be caught unaware like the five foolish virgins
who lack the oil in their lamps. It
vital that we share the Gospel with those who have not come to the knowledge of
salvation. As the faithful servant, we are told to give those around us
food at the proper time. Do you think
that now might be the right time to share
what is happening to prepare Christians for the end times?
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